Partner
by Tako Phin
Summary: He sets you straight when you deviate. He picks up the pieces when you break. He makes everything that is not okay in the world okay, even just for a while. Written for Golden Pair Week 2016.
**This story is posted for this challenge:
tenipurishippingweeks. tumblr. c(o)m**

 **Golden Pair Week Day ? prompt: uhh...  
** **day 1** ** _Synchro_** **is somewhat inside. day 2's** ** _The Best_** **seemed to work somehow. Or day 5** ** _Graduation_** **(the original plan). or day 7's** ** _Forever_** **. I have no idea XD**

* * *

It was just yesterday. Kikumaru had leaped to the sky happily and hugged his partner Oishi super tightly and threw Ochibi in the air for winning that match against Yukimura, earning them their first Nationals victory ever. He had been jittering in excitement, giddy from the adrenaline rushing through him as he watched Tezuka received the golden trophy in the team's stead. He couldn't wait to celebrate it together with the team, and they did that night. That entire day, Kikumaru felt like he was on cloud nine, literally.

"Focus Eiji!"

"NYAA!" Kikumaru jumped from his seat. It felt like he had just fallen through the clouds and face planted onto the ground.

Not long after that, the third years had stepped down from the club to focus on the oncoming Exam Hell where getting an above average score was not enough to get you to a decent public high school.

So instead of playing tennis, they were now spending their after school time studying together. Today they were gathered around the low table in Oishi's living room. Oishi and Kikumaru sat on one side, Fuji and Taka on the opposite side and Inui at the side in between.

"Buuuut this is boring!" Kikumaru flung his arms in the air and flopped down onto the floor.

"The probability of you passing the exam at the moment is…0%" Inui commented while still scratching madly on his notebook, his school notebook. Kikumaru scowled.

"Don't be so harsh Inui." Fuji said with his usual smile. "We still have six months to spare."

"That!" Kikumaru yelled while pointing at Fuji in support of his argument.

"I'm sure you'll be fine by then, Eiji." Taka added. "But you still need to study."

Kikumaru half heartedly listened with a scowl. From his height all he could see was the underside of the table and books peeking out from the sides, threatening to fall off the table and bury him. Kikumaru wanted something to eat. Or tennis.

Suddenly he was pulled up by force to a sitting position. It was Oishi. Kikumaru was about to protest when Oishi tapped his finger on Kikumaru's paper loudly, twice. "Finish this page and then I'll get you a cake."

It's not tennis but at least he could eat that. Oishi always instinctively knew what Kikumaru needed. "I love Oishi~" Kikumaru hugged Oishi tightly before channeling all his focus to the paper.

Two minutes and Kikumaru learnt he needed more than willpower and incentive to comprehend what the question was asking from him. Just reading the question used up all his strength. He had no more left to think of an answer. Kikumaru yawned. He was getting sleepy. He should take a short nap and after that he should be energized to finish the entire paper and-

"EIJI!"

Maaaan, Oishi really knew what Kikumaru _need_.

By the time the sky turned dark, Kikumaru could only finish the first page out of a total ten, mostly with Oishi's help. Inui ended up lending him his answers. "Try answering it on your own first, then compare with mine. It should be 99.7% correct." He told Kikumaru.

Kikumaru was pouting as they bid goodbye to Oishi and walked home. This studying session drained him of all the positive feelings from that day. He felt as if he had just run twenty laps. His head ached and even his chest was somewhat painful, especially when he realized everyone else had finished the entire ten pages and some even did more than that.

Kikumaru really wanted to get back up on that figurative cloud.

"I'm thinking of dropping by the club tomorrow." Fuji said. "Do you want to come along?"

"The probability of Kikumaru saying yes is hund-"

"YES!" Kikumaru shouted very loudly, earning him the stares from the people on the street. It's a chance!

"I really want to go… but I think I'll pass." Taka said hesitantly.

"I'll pass too." Inui said.

Kikumaru did not understand why his teammates weren't as eager as him. Oh well. After he had visited the club and played some tennis, Kikumaru would be able to devote himself completely and entirely to tenn- he meant studies.

He told himself that over and over again as he reached home, as he bathed, as he changed onto his pajamas and flopped onto the bed and slept. The papers were the last thing in his mind, if they were in his mind at all.

* * *

"Come on Oishi~ Just this once nyaa?" Kikumaru was pulling his partner's sleeve to no avail. Oishi was firmly rooted to his seat, his tables were full with scattered books and notes.

"I can't Eiji." Oishi told him for the nth time, his voice deep in frustration. "I have to finish these assignments. And you should be using the time to finish yesterday's paper instead of playing tennis."

"I've done it."

"Eiji…" Oishi totally saw through his bluff.

"You're no fun Oishi!" Kikumaru pouted and dashed out of the class before Oishi could lecture him on the importance of the exam again. Oishi was being a nagging mother again, even sending him a super long message last time when Kikumaru had fallen asleep.

Kikumaru knew how important exams were. He just needed one more day to play around. One day shouldn't hurt.

Kikumaru ran to the tennis courts as if he had spring on his heels. He spotted Fuji who was talking to their three juniors in one of the court and barged in with a wide grin.

"Kaidoh! Momo! Ochibi!" Kikumaru greeted them. All of them stepped away before Kikumaru could hug them to suffocation. "It's been so long!"

"It's only been two days senpai." Echizen muttered.

"I even miss your snarky remark nyaa." Kikumaru exclaimed, attacking Echizen with his hug before the shorty had time to react. Fuji chuckled at the side while Momo and Kaidoh tried to stay away as far as they could.

They spent the day observing their juniors adjusting to their new leadership role. Kaidoh took the role of captaincy as if he was becoming Tezuka, only he was less liberal with assigning laps to the members. There was also the constant bickering between the captain and his vice on the most trivial of things, such as how many laps should the members run and who should be at the front and who should be at the tail of the run.

Kikumaru watched them together with Fuji from the side of the court, feeling a tingling sensation running through him. He was not on cloud nine. This one was…what's the word, the feeling of soaking in bath tub that had that perfectly warm temperature?

Kikumaru liked this feeling. He did not want this to end, to be replaced by the cold, gloomy darkness that haunted him whenever he saw the stacks of papers to be done.

That night, Kikumaru returned home, feeling content from seeing the club once again, even if he did not get to play any tennis.

After he had changed into his pajamas, he went and sat down before his study desk. He took out the papers he had borrowed from Inui the other day and placed it on the table. Now it's the time to study, he told himself. He flipped to the second page of both his and Inui's paper and was horrified.

On the black spaces where the answer should be was a huge wall of text for every single question on Inui's paper. It was pristine white and spotless on Kikumaru's.

Kikumaru stared at the question. Determine the circumference of the- circumference…circles…racquet…Kikumaru wanted to play tennis.

This would not do, Kikumaru shook his head. He was too distracted now. He had to play tennis. He wanted to feel the thrill rushing through his vein as he returned the shots. His muscles longed to get into those acrobatic poses once more.

Raising from his chair, Kikumaru flopped onto the bed. After he had played tennis tomorrow, he would be satisfied and focus on his studies, 110%, pinky promise. As he closed his lids, he could envision himself on the court, returning every single shot with Oishi. He let the nostalgic feeling washed through him and lulled him to sleep, ignoring the said person that was trying to reach him through his ringing phone at the same time.

* * *

"Shouldn't you be studying, senpai?" Echizen asked. Kikumaru had visited the club again. Actually, Echizen swore he saw this particular cat-like senpai almost everyday. He had only seen the other senpais twice at most.

"I am!" Kikumaru defended. "I've been studying everyday!" Everyday Kikumaru would rush to school, sleep through lessons and go to tennis club after school. He would spend the night doing something…anything other than touching the papers on his desk. It was exactly how he had been living his school life thus far. Not even Kikumaru bought that lie.

"Anyway I still have three months nyaa." Kikumaru shrugged, immediately thinking of changing topic. "You said you have a new move right? Show me~"

* * *

Kikumaru did not know when. All the sudden it was winter and he had two months left to exam.

He still wanted to play tennis no matter how much he had played it these past few months. He also missed the club. He missed Tezuka being mean and giving him laps, Fuji being evil, Inui and his scary juices, and Taka just being Taka.

He missed playing with Oishi most. He dreamt of them playing doubles together almost every night. He wanted to meet Oishi again, and the one time he did to ask him to play doubles together again, he received the longest lecture Kikumaru ever wanted to hear.

So Kikumaru decided to avoid Oishi altogether, at least until exams ended.

Now that it was winter holiday, he could not play tennis even if he wanted to. After the first week, his juniors were now all busy preparing for class promotion exams. He did not even need to mention the third years, they were all buried under books by now.

Kikumaru sighed, looking at the papers on his table. It had collected dust since the last time he took them out. He still had yet to return the paper to Inui. He had to start studying now because exams were coming and he wanted to get into a good high school, and definitely not because he did not have anyone he could play tennis with.

Sighing again, he picked up the papers one by one, grimacing at the amount of dust he had collected and pinched his nose as he tried to get rid of them.

* * *

"All the best, senpai!" Momo shouted. Everyone cheered along and toasted their glass in the air. Their juniors had decided to hold a 'good luck for exams' party the night before the dreaded day in Taka's sushi restaurant. Kikumaru took a glance at everyone around the table as he drank his juice.

The intense studying seemed to take a huge toll on the seniors, Taka looked thinner, Inui looked paler if that was even possible, and Oishi had large dark bags under his eyes. Even Fuji's usual smile was somewhat off.

Kikumaru was probably the only one that did not change. He was still his usual exuberant self.

That night, they talked about anything but exams. They talked about how Tezuka would resume his studies in Germany, how Kaidoh was 'hissing too much at the members' and how Momo 'could not even scold a member properly', or how Echizen would be going back overseas next year to become pro.

"It's been a while since I had so much fun." Taka said.

Everyone else agreed immediately. Kikumaru stared blankly at Taka. "Of course nyaa~" He said a little too late than everyone else. Thankfully it was still in character for him that no one noticed it.

Kikumaru dug into his bag and pulled out a stack of paper and handed it to Inui who was sitting next to him diagonally. "I've finally finished it." Kikumaru said with a proud grin. He really did, and not in the 'I copy your exact answers' way. For those two months, Kikumaru believed he was more productive than he had ever been in his entire life. He actually had a stack of papers with _answers_ as a proof!

"You can keep it." Inui said. "I won't be needing that anymore."

Kikumaru shrugged and put the papers back inside. More to his stack that he could brag about, Kikumaru concluded and returned to the party.

He did not not notice Oishi's concerned eyes at him.

* * *

"Ready?"

The seniors agreed to gather before the school gates half an hour before exam began. It was less nerve wrecking to enter the hell with friends.

All five of them nodded solemnly.

Inui extended his hand out wordlessly. Fuji placed his hand on top, followed by Taka, Oishi and Eiji. It was something they would always do before tennis match. Together, they brought their hands down and flung them upwards, cheering in silence to match the occasion.

Together, they walked into the dreaded place. Kikumaru's heart was beating fast. He was ready. He thought he was ready. He should be ready. He did study, right?

Oishi placed a hand on his shoulder. Kikumaru turned and stare blankly at him. Oishi looked…worried.

"Do you best." Oishi told him, his voice sombre. Kikumaru did not reply. They walked silently side by side, Kikumaru trying to enjoy this calm before the storm until they reached the exam venue.

"You can do it, Oishi! I believe in you!" Kikumaru grabbed both of Oishi's hand. He had exclaimed that too loud for he could hear people hissing at him to keep quiet. His partner, surprised at the sudden burst of energy and the unwarranted attention, blushed and smiled.

"We can do this." Oishi replied firmly. He held a fist up. Kikumaru bumped his fist with him, something that they two of them often did in matches.

Kikumaru beamed brightly. A rush of confidence washed through him, overcoming any other feeling that was nagging at him. He could do this. _They_ could do this.

* * *

Just like that, the exams ended.

Some breathed sighs of relief. Others were yelling either in happiness or in fear, Kikumaru could not distinguish them. Kikumaru himself did not know how to feel. The exam was doable, he felt. Kinda like doing his usual class tests, the ones where he usually received a D at best, but he had studied this time round so it should be better than that.

Kikumaru did not want to worry himself with that. They were now free to do whatever they want! To Kikumaru's delight, they decided to have a pretend ranking match, for fun and to see how much their juniors had grown.

Kikumaru won 2 out of 3 matches. He lost against Kaidoh in the 'semifinals'. It was too easy though, Kikumaru believed Inui had not played tennis for too long that his body had become stiff to properly execute his data tennis and Fuji was not playing seriously, as usual. It surprised him how much Kaidoh had grown. He had developed another new trick, and the last time Kikumaru played against him was just three months ago.

Inui had prepared another new poison that was glowing black and white at the same time for the losers that send Fuji straight to dream land. Kikumaru could feel his throat burning and freezing and itchy at the same time even when he was supposedly unconscious.

He missed this feeling so much. It was not of the same level as back when all of them were actually in the same club, but it was close.

But they were not under the same club anymore, and now they all had technically 'graduated' from Seigaku. He knew, the moment he woke up from the juice-induced comatose, everything would end. So he let himself remain unconscious longer, not wanting this to end. Hopefully he slept through the two months of waiting period for his results to be released too.

He was just starting to play another doubles match with Oishi in the dream land when a worried call snapped him awake.

"EIJI!"

That's the real Oishi. Why had dream tennis when he could play a real one with his partner? Kikumaru woke up and persuaded Oishi to play another match against Kaidoh-Momo pair.

Those two months of waiting period had been heavenly.

* * *

"To all students, I greatly emphasize that results do not make who you are. What you have on that sheet of paper is…"

Is hell.

Kikumaru stared wide eyed at the paper that displayed his grades for his subjects. It was fine and average until...That's…that's an F. He saw an F.

An F. Fail. _FAIL_.

His life was officially over.

It was goodbye high school and hello…what? begging for food on the street?

He could see his friends chattering happily from afar. They seemed to have received good grades. Good for them. He saw them walking closer. "Eiji, do you want to join us?"

Kikumaru stared through the figure before him. It was Inui. He had a smile on his face. Of course, Inui was a very intelligent guy. It would be weird for him not to get high grades. Unlike him. It would be normal for him to get a fail. He had not been studying and-

He did not want to hear that.

"I-i have something to do." Kikumaru hastily reasoned and dashed out of the hall after he saw Oishi approaching. He definitely did not want to see his face now.

What did he want?

Kikumaru ran and ran. His legs stamped against the ground, carrying him to a place that Kikumaru did not even think of going to. Before he knew it, he found himself at the empty park where he and his partner would hang at when they lost a match, drenched in sweat with the piece of paper crumpled in his fist.

Oishi…He should do fine. He had worked very hard after all. He would be a very fine doctor, Kikumaru was sure of that.

Kikumaru climbed up the green bins he usually sat on. Tucking his knees in, he rested his head on his arms. No, he was not crying. He was not sad. He knew he would not do well. Kikumaru knew deep down that he had played more than he studied, and he deserved his marks. He should be extremely thankful even to received grades that were higher than he had ever gotten in class for all the other subjects despite his lackluster efforts.

Except one.

He did not know what to feel. He did not know what to do.

He wanted time to stand still. He did not want to see his friends. They knew he had been playing around too much. He did not want them to tell him that. He did not want to go home. He did not want to see his parents and his siblings cry for him. Would they even cry for him? Perhaps they would disown him for being such a disappointment and throw him out like a stray cat and-

Kikumaru did not want to think further. It's making his head spin. Kikumaru closed his eyes, listening to the sound of the breeze. He did not know how long had he been there or how much time had passed. He just sat there with his eyes closed, sleeping and yet not, tethering on the edge of his consciousness.

"Eiji?"

Kikumaru heard his name. He knew who the voice belong to. He did not want his partner to be here, the one person that had reminded him to take the exams seriously more than anyone. He did not want to listen to another round of speech about that. Kikumaru hugged his knees tighter.

Kikumaru felt the bin shaking. Oishi must have climbed up the bin. A gush of wind alerted him of Oishi sitting beside him. Kikumaru did not look up. He did not dare to.

Why was Oishi not saying a thing? Shouldn't he blame Kikumaru for not listening to him? Tell him that he deserved this. Or at least shower him with those fake comfort words like 'It's okay' and such. Why was he being so silent?

What was he doing here anyway? He should be with the other members, celebrating their good results and their clear future. Even if he was just being a good friend he could have find him tomorrow.

Unable to stand it anymore, Kikumaru pulled his head out of his embrace and glared at his friend. "Why are you even here?" He spat.

But Oishi was not looking at him. He was looking at the vista before him, the image of the afternoon sun looking after the town below it. Oishi was waiting for him, for Kikumaru to be ready to accept another presence to talk with. Until then, he would sit there quietly and waited at his side.

Kikumaru's heart squeezed painfully. Wordlessly, Kikumaru draped his arms around his partner, letting his forehead rest on his broad and dependable shoulder. He felt hands on his back, soothing him, protecting him in his embrace. They stayed like that, no words exchanged.

"Oishi…"

Oishi ran his hand along Kikumaru's back. "I'm here." His voice was soft and comforting.

"...Why?"

Everything that happened here was Kikumaru's own fault. He could have prevented it. Oishi had warned him multiple times about it. Now the worst had happened and there was nothing he could do. There was nothing that _Oishi_ could do.

"I'm your friend. I'm also your partner."

"But-!" Kikumaru was unable to finish his words. He could feel tears forming at the corner of his eyes. He was a disgrace to his family, to Seigaku, and to Oishi. Oishi should be ashamed for having such a stupid person to be his friend, his doubles partner. Yet why, _why_ …

Kikumaru grasped Oishi's shirt and pulled him closer, hiding his tear stricken face behind.

" _I'm sorry._ " Kikumaru sniffed. Kikumaru was shaking, droplets of tears falling onto the bin, leaving dark spots behind.

 _"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!"_

Oishi comforted the frantic red hair, petting his head lovingly. "You don't need to apologize. We'll get through this together." Oishi assured him, and Kikumaru cried even harder..

By the time Kikumaru's tears had dried, the sun was setting. They sat side by side, Kikumaru leaning his head on Oishi's shoulder, snoring in light sleep after the outburst. Oishi's hand on top of Kikumaru's, enveloping the fist that was clutching onto his source of woes.

Everything was not okay. Kikumaru still had to go home eventually. He still had to think of what to do to next. But for now, with Oishi next to him, he let himself forget to a moment that he had that piece of paper in his fist. That the world consisted of just the two of them, and everything would be okay when he opened his eyes.

* * *

That night, Kikumaru received a lot of encouragements.

The first one was from Inui. It was an email filled with lots of words. 'Options Available' the heading read. Upon scanning it, it was a list of what Kikumaru could do in event of failing his exam, such as repeating his third year or going to a private high school. Kikumaru groaned. It was so Inui-like.

But he did not want to deal anything that had to do with exams now. Even his parents did not want to deal with it. After Oishi walked him home and helped him explain everything his parents, they forced Oishi to return home and sent Kikumaru to his room. So Kikumaru just saved the document to read another time.

Next was an unexpected phone call from Tezuka. Kikumaru had freaked out. He had never talked with his captain by phone, and every time they talked it was always Kikumaru getting scolded. After ignoring it for three consecutive times, Kikumaru gave up and answered the fourth.

"N-nyaa?"

 _"Don't let your guard down again."_

"Nya?"

The call ended just like that.

Kikumaru did not have time to ponder about it for his phone rang again, this time because of incoming messages. The phone continued vibrating, one message after another. Kikumaru briefly wondered if he was getting a barrage of scolding from someone.

 _It's alright to let your guard down. We'll be here for you._ _Fuji._

 _Are you okay? You can always come by our restaurant if you need any help. Taka._

 _Cheer up Eiji-senpai! It's not the end of the world! Momo._

 _Fsshh… don't give up. Kaidoh._

 _Stay strong, senpai. Echizen._

Even ochibi, Kikumaru gaped. And all of this in one day. He had not even told anyone about his score, not even to Oishi!

Kikumaru hold the phone close to his chest as he laid on the bed. It's a good thing he had cried himself dry earlier or he would start another round now. Oishi, and now everyone else…He did not deserve this!

 _Knock knock_. Kikumaru turned his head towards the door, but it did not come from there. _Knock knock._ There was the noise again. Kikumaru shot up to a sitting position and turned towards the source. It came from his window. And there was…

"Oishi?" Kikumaru gasped in surprise.

Kikumaru opened the window, shivering at the breezy wind that invaded his room. Before Oishi could say anything Kikumaru pulled him into the room. It was very cold outside and Oishi's hand was freezing already.

Oishi fell onto the bed. Kikumaru immediately shut the window closed. Oishi was in his night gear, carrying with him a book. Kikumaru towered over Oishi with a curious face.

"L-look I..uh…" Oishi's face was very red. Kikumaru was not sure whether it was because of the cold outside or he was flushing. "I have a feeling that you won't be able to sleep tonight, so uh…sleep over?"

Kikumaru laughed. It was the hardest he had laughed ever since they won nationals. For the first time in months, he was back on those cloud nine.

"Stop laughing…" Oishi scowled as he pulled himself to a seated position on Kikumaru's bed. "If you don't want me to be here then I'll get-"

"NO!" Kikumaru flung his arms around Oishi's shoulder tightly. He placed his head next to Oishi's, leaning onto him.

"What's that?" Kikumaru gestured at the book Oishi was holding. The book was larger than usual and it was thin. Kikumaru swore he saw rabbits and cats on the cover before Oishi quickly flung the book to the corner of the room.

"I don't think you'll need this." Oishi quickly covered.

Kikumaru grinned. "You brought me a story book?" He was trying his best not to laugh.

Oishi's face flushed deep red. "It's nothing!" He insisted.

Kikumaru decided to drop the subject. Instead, he flopped down onto the bed with his arms still locked around Oishi, pulling the other boy down with a surprise yelp.

"Now that you're here I wanna sleep~" Kikumaru announced, still holding onto Oishi tightly like a teddy bear. Oishi turned to face his red headed friend.

"Don't worry about anything now." Oishi assured, running his hand through Kikumaru's hair. "I'll help you settle things tomorrow."

"Nyaaaa….." Kikumaru was already fast asleep.

Oishi wanted to turn off the light, but he realized that Kikumaru was holding him tightly and he did not want to wake the boy up by breaking his embrace. Although it was somewhat early in the night, he decided to follow his friend and slept.

"Congratulation, Oishi…." Kikumaru mumbled, half asleep, catching Oishi by surprise.

He had not told Kikumaru about his scores, but apparently he did not have to, just like how Kikumaru still had not told his. It was definitely better than Kikumaru's, but it was below the grade he needed to get into the high ranking school he was aiming for. He too had his own set of problems, which he willingly tossed aside for the time being. Kikumaru's wellbeing was more important.

"Stop…frowning…nyaa…" Kikumaru slurred in his sleep.

Oishi smiled, with one hand rubbing Kikumaru's head soothingly. He should stop worrying himself if he did not want to worry Kikumaru. Admiring Kikumaru's angelic face for one more time, he closed his eyes, letting himself go to the same place as wherever Kikumaru was.

Everything was not okay. But with each other in their embrace, everything became okay, even just for tonight.

* * *

 **About the pair: I confess I actually never pay attention to this pair at all when I watch PoT the first time XD  
** **(so once again, wiki time~)  
** **I find them cute now. Adorably cute. A case of contrasting personalities that become close because they complement each other.**

 **Did none of them think what would happen tomorrow when someone go into Eiji's room to wake him up?**


End file.
